According to The Times of Israel, Ali Akbar Salehi claims that Israel doesn’t have the capabilities to carry out a strike against Iran.

“Israel can’t carry out an attack against such a big country, and it knows that,” Salehi said, adding that Israel’s warnings of a strike are “empty.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Iran was several months away from being able to build a nuclear bomb, adding that President Obama needs to draw a “red line” as to when to pursue U.S. military action against Iran.

The Obama administration has consistently stated that a military option is the last resort and that sanctions against Tehran’s regime is the best course of action for now.

But Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Clinton administration, predicted that the U.S. will strike Iran as early as next year.

“I’m afraid that 2013 is going to be a year in which we’re going to have a military confrontation with Iran,” Indyk told CBS News.

Political and military analysts have speculated that Israel will launch a strike on Iran’s plants to put an end to the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently said they are using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.